Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh claimed her maiden LPGA Tour title with a seven-under-par final round earning her a four-stroke win at the Toto Japan Classic.
The 29-year-old Aberdonian picked up $300,000 for her life-changing win – dwarfing the €180,000 total prize money she had previously earned in seven seasons on the Ladies European Tour.
Dryburgh began her final round one shot behind Japan’s Momoko Ueda, who was aiming to complete a wire-to-wire victory and win this tournament for a third time after previous triumphs in 2007 and 2011. However, the home favourite stumbled to a two-over 74 to finish in a tie for fifth, eight strokes behind champion Drybugh, who carded a bogey-free 65 in Shiga.
The Aberdeen-born player birdied the fourth and seventh holes, before also picking up gains at 11, 13, 14, 15 and 18 as she finished on 20 under par for the tournament and became the third British winner on the LPGA Tour in a little over a month, following recent wins by Charley Hull and Jodi Ewart Shadoff.
Dryburgh, who is the first Scottish player to win on the LPGA Tour since Catriona Matthew in 2011, said: “It’s a little overwhelming, as it has been a dream for a long time and a lot of hard work has gone into this. It means so much, as it is a life-changing win. I was nervous, I’m not going to lie, but I was also incredibly calm and focused on my breathing.”
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